


Laundry Day!

by WaxRhapsodic



Series: You and I [6]
Category: X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies), X-Men (Movieverse), X-Men - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Babies, Domestic Bliss, Domestic Fluff, Laundry, M/M, Nursing, Post Mpreg
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-04
Updated: 2017-01-04
Packaged: 2018-09-14 19:41:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9199658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WaxRhapsodic/pseuds/WaxRhapsodic
Summary: Charles and Erik do a load of laundry and have an some important conversations.





	

Charles woke slowly to soft murmuring and quiet whimpers. He fluttered his eyes open and glanced around in the darkness of their tiny flat to see Erik pacing back and forth talking softly to a fussy infant.

Based on the dim lighting and the slight ache in his chest, Charles figured it was time for another feeding.

He sat up slowly, letting the sheet pool around his waist as he settled back against the headboard.

Erik turned to him at the movement, his face cast in shadow, his posture relaxed.

“Ah, look who’s awake, you promised not to wake your daddy but look what you did?” he chattered softly to their little girl. As he made his way back over to Charles to settle her in his arms.

“You had about ten more minutes to go before they all wanted a feeding; I hoped you wouldn’t wake before then. You need your sleep,” he whispered softly in the dark, sitting on the edge of the bed and running his fingers through Charles’ hair gently.

“It’s alright, she just wanted some attention from her papa,” Charles said dreamily, still half asleep. He settled Lorna under one arm and let her latch on with a soft smack. She began nursing greedily making tiny grunts as she feverishly fed.

Erik chuckled at the sight, “You’d think we hadn't fed her all day with the way she eats,”

“She’d just growing fast, I’m sure its thirsty work,” Charles said warmly, tipping his head back to watch the light change over his husbands face as the sun came up over the docks.

Erik watched him as well, scooting closer to place a soft kiss on Charles’s plump, red lips.

“Let me get you another one and get a bottle going.” He said after a long moment

Charles nodded sleepily, “It’s Anya’s turn on the bottle, bring me Nina.”

Erik found it adorable, and amazing, at how well Charles remembered the nursing schedule for each other their daughters. He often felt lost in a haze of cooking, cleaning, shopping, and diaper changes. He could only imagine how tiring it must be for Charles who the babies all fussed for when they were hungry.

He was looking well though, and Angel had stopped by for a check in a few days before and proclaimed him the picture of health. That had been a weight off Erik’s shoulders. He knew of more than one story of complications arising after giving birth and he knew he’d never have forgiven himself if his eagerness the night they met had led to Charles being hurt or worse.

He made his way over to the crib and lifted Nina into his arms, she turned her bright blue eyes to him, alert and active already. She was a quiet baby who didn’t cry when she woke unless she needed immediate changing, so Erik wasn’t surprised to find her waiting patiently for him.

“Good morning little blue eyes, ready for breakfast?” she settled into his arms, staring up into his face intently. He’d have given the world to know just what she was thinking at that moment.

“Here you go,” he handed her off to Charles who expertly tucked her under his other arm, bracing her on a pillow to help her latch, she was lazy about it and often needed a small push to start feeding.

Anya was still sleeping soundly, but with a tiny frown creasing her brow that Erik knew would turn into a restless fit if she wasn’t fed soon. He hurried about making up a bottle of formula and had her feeding before she was fully awake.

Charles chuckled at his dramatics, “They cry, Erik. They’re babies; nothing you can do will stop it.”

“I know, but I hate to hear it, she always sounds so miserable when she cries,” He explained, looking down into his daughter’s eyes, mirror images of his own.

Charles couldn’t hide a smile at the soft hearted man he’d pledged his life to. Well, soft hearted when it came to his family.

~~

The day went as it usually did, in a blur of cooking, cleaning, and changing diapers. The babies fed every two hours or sooner if someone was feeling fussy. By mid afternoon Erik was ready for a nap but he had to agree when Charles insisted they do a wash of diapers.

It wouldn’t do them any favors to run out, especially with the way the girls went through the things.

They settled them in the crib and set the mobile spinning which earned a few giggles and thankfully no screams. Sometimes they did it for no reason that he could discern. They kept him on his toes.

Erik flipped on the radio and began sorting laundry while Charles set water to boil. Hopefully they could find a place and move in soon, his tiny flat would be far too small once their little ones started crawling.

He voiced his concerns to Charles who sighed tiredly and agreed, “I know, darling. We just need to find the time to go looking.”

Erik groaned; it felt like they’d never have free time again, it felt like they’d never had free time together at all. He remembered their night at the fair so fondly, it had been an amazing date and he’d like to do something like it for Charles since he’d brought so much joy into his life.

An idea came to mind and he made a promise to himself to see if he could bring it to fruition.

“Ready?” Charles asked, wrapping his arms around his husband from behind.

Erik grinned and placed his hand over Charles’ holding on to the perfection of the moment before it passed. “Sure thing, blue eyes.”

They passed the time playfully, Charles scrubbing and Erik wringing them out and hanging them to dry on the clothesline he strung across the small living space when he did his laundry. Charles had been scandalized to see underclothes hanging to dry in the air between buildings and Erik had promised to show him how to do his own laundry without embarrassing himself in front of their neighbors.

“But you know they don’t care, Blue Eyes, or they wouldn’t hang their own clothes out to dry.” Erik had protested lightly on one of their rambling walks around the neighborhood, more to fluster his husband than any other reason.

“I know,” Charles had blushed, glancing away from the unmentionables fluttering in the wind, “But _still_.”

His modesty and upper crust sensibilities should have irked Erik to no end, but he couldn’t help but be charmed.

So here they were, kneeling on the hard wood floor, scrubbing their knuckles raw and “accidentally” splashing each other with soapy water. He stood to wring out another nappy and pin it onto the clothes line. He felt Charles’s eyes on him as he turned, but when he glanced back, the younger man wasn’t looking. The light flush to his cheeks, deeper than it should have been just from steam and exertion alone, gave him away.

Erik smirked and pretended not to notice his young husband’s stealthy perusal of his body. In the six weeks since Charles gave birth and the four since Erik had arrived home to his pleasant surprise, they hadn’t been intimate the way they had been at the fair.

They’d satisfied each other with hands and mouths, and most often by rutting against each other to completion. It was deeply erotic and curiously more intimate than what they’d shared before since they took the time to learn each other’s likes and dislikes and to map the sensitive areas only lovers knew.

Their exploration was often rushed, as it had to be between feedings and changing’s and trying to get their own sleep, but they were good together. He wasn’t going to push the issue of full intercourse, not only did he not know how long it would take for Charles to fully heal from birth, or if that amount of time was longer after birthing multiples, but he didn’t want Charles to think that was the only reason Erik liked him. His young husband had incredibly low estimate of his own self worth, and Erik tried to do everything in his power not to make that worse.

Besides, that Aryan Emma that Charles had taken such a shine to had pulled Erik outside to talk after one of her home visits and put the fear of god into him about getting Charles pregnant again too soon, “Look, Charles told me you were his first, and I know that means he’s probably very eager and curious about all the… _possibilities_ available to him now, but the last thing he needs is another pregnancy this soon.”

Erik frowned, his neighbors always seemed to be pregnant, the midwives came through daily and the herd of children roaming the streets grew continuously. “Is he in danger?” he asked worriedly, ignoring the fact that Emma seemed surprised by his concern. He knew his reputation.

“His body is recovering, replenishing itself. Try not to get him pregnant for at least a year,” she said dryly like she had no hope of that actually happening.

Erik frowned, if Charles kept giving him ‘come hither’ eyes he wasn’t sure how long he could hold out. Emma seemed to read his mind on that as well.

“I know some sailors wives who swear that contraceptive sleeves don’t work,” he glanced around cagily, lowing his voice so his words were almost drowned in the din of the street.

Emma blushed and adjusted her hat, “they’re illegal, so if your friends were getting them from overseas there’s no telling how they were made. I’ll see about getting some from the NHS, they make some for women and carriers who have permission,” she had lowered her voice and glanced around as well.

“Thank you,” he was surprised she would stick her neck out for them; perhaps Charles was a better judge of character than he’d given him credit for.

“I said I’ll see,” she said stiffly before taking her leave and hoping on her bike to head to her next stop.

Fingers crossed, Erik had made his way back indoors to tend to his little family.

~~

Charles dunked another cloth into the steaming water and scrubbed it heartily against the washboard. If only his mother could see him now, he thought with a wry grin. He knew Erik felt bad about his reduced life circumstances since their marriage, but Charles had never been happier. All the luxuries in the world couldn’t make up for the joy he found in Erik’s arms or the pure delight that came from playing with their daughters.

They were actively looking for an affordable place in a nicer neighborhood, but Erik was naturally frugal and didn’t want to burn through the small cache of money Charles brought with him when he escaped to London. Erik had some small savings as well, and combined they had enough to get by for a while without Erik needing to sign onto a ship, which was a life saver as far as Charles was concerned.

Erik was a natural when it came to wrangling their little ones, Charles thought Erik was the twins’ clear favorite, but Erik was convinced he was seeing what he wanted to see.

“Have you heard back from the lawyer?” Erik asked, stepping back over to the crib to peak in on the girls and being greeted with a high pitched squeal when he came into view. He grinned and reached into their shared cot to tweak tiny toes and try to earn some rare but precious gummy smiles.

“Not yet,” Charles swiped his wrist tiredly over his brow and sat back on his heels, “these things take time. Especially since we don’t want my mother and stepfather to know where we live.”

“Do you really think they’ll try to keep your father’s estate from you?” Erik asked, incredulous. He’d heard of greed, but there was something sick about stealing a man’s family legacy from his only living child.

Charles shrugged thoughtfully, “Mother, maybe. Kurt, definitely. They probably would have had me engaged to his son or one of the members of the board by now if I hadn’t made it back to you before the girls were born.”

“We’ll get your father’s company back,” Erik said softly.

“Right now I’d settle for the townhouse,” Charles admitted with a chuckle. “We’d have a housekeeper and a maid to do all this,” he flicked a hand of water at his husband with a grin.

Erik tried to imagine such a life but couldn’t. It rankled that he couldn’t provide for his family well enough; it was something that grated on him daily. Though he tried not to let it show, he and Charles had argued over it more than once.

“Then what would we do all day?” he asked.

Charles gave him a confused look, “well I didn’t mention a nanny. We’d still have the girls to look after and if we have more kids that will certainly keep us busy.”

It was Erik’s turn to look surprised, “I thought all you blue bloods were raised by nannies until you went to boarding school,” he’d brought that up once in the midst of an argument and Charles had entirely shut down and refused to speak to him for more than an hour. He hadn’t broached the subject again, not wanting to touch the same nerve.

Charles exhaled shakily, “ _I was_ and I hated it. I know you won’t force me to send our kids away, I want to take care of them ourselves as much as possible.” He blushed like he was making a shameful confession.

But Erik was relieved to hear it; the thought of sending his children away to be raised by others was horrifying. He knew the circumstances were entirely different, but he couldn’t help but see the parallels between that and the choice his parents had made. He was glad to hear they were on the same page about how to raise the girls-and any other children they might have as Charles had mentioned.

“And you can go to university,” Charles said casually, going back to his scrubbing with a vengeance so as to avoid eye contact with his hot blooded husband.

Erik gaped at him for a long moment, “What?”

Charles launched into the pitch he’d prepared for just such an occasion. “You’re brilliant, Erik. You’re far more intelligent than any of the peers I went to school with; they just got admitted because of their family names. Most of them don’t even have a proper fortune anymore.”

“Charles, I-there’s no way-” he stuttered, shocked beyond words.

“If you could have afforded it would you have gone?” Charles asked abruptly, blue eyes shining with conviction.

Erik swallowed his protest; to be able to attend university had been a lifelong dream of his. And if it gave him the opportunity to provide for his family, how could he let his pride stand in the way? “But what about you?” he finally acquiesced.

Charles shrugged, “I have some credits to my name that earned during my final years of grammar school, but mother and Kurt encouraged a gap year and well, here we are.” He smiled before sobering, “I only need a few credits to finish my degree, and I can get those through the mail, or by attending a few lectures. I already have a far better education than most people, Erik. You’re helping me live my dream I want to help you live yours.” He said earnestly.

Erik was still in shock, “I-well, yes. Then, yes, I’d love to go to university.” He gave his husband a slow smile.

“Then when the money comes through we’ll do that, and you can help me manage our interests, it’s more complicated than you might imagine,” Charles warned.

But Erik nodded eagerly, “I’ve always been interested in business and the financial markets,” he said absently.

“I know,” Charles said softly, relieved that he’d made it through the mine field of Erik’s pride without getting singed. “Now let’s finish this up before we get into another change cycle.” He grimaced playfully in reference to the habit the babies had of making full use of their diapers just after being changed, sometimes more than once in a row.

“That’s why we keep up with laundry,” Erik bent to press a kiss to the crown of his head before turning back to their task, mind whirring with possibilities for the future.

**Author's Note:**

> Here's for everyone who wanted some more domestic scenes of life with the babies. More of that to come! I hope you had happy holidays!


End file.
